The Mariano Rivera Fact Sheet

Forgive the self-promotion, but I wrote this FanGraphs post about Mariano Rivera today. It’s basically just a list of facts about the greatest reliever ever, most of them weird and interesting and not the typical banter. At least I hope so. Check it out.

Wow that was awesome, good work Mike. I especially liked the last sentence.

“Mariano Rivera has faced nearly 5,000 batters during a mostly offensive era while playing his home games in a hitter’s ballpark in a tough division, and he’s turned them all into 2011 Brandon Inge.”

Pure gold. I miss Mo.

the English Ingenue

Thanks Mike
Next Saturday I will watch my first ever major league game, having followed the Yankees from over the ocean since 2004. More than anything I wanted to see the great Rivera come out at Yankee Stadium and close a game, but it wasn’t to be, i’ve been crestfallen about that since Mo got hurt, looks like I’ll have to find a way to get back in 2013.

G

Everyone must see Mo. Sir, if I happen to win the lottery in the meantime, I will personally fly you out and take you to games until he has an appearance.

That’s how important it is to me that everyone gets a chance to see him.

I can’t wait to hear the excuses of the people who don’t vote for him.

RetroRob

No one will give excuses since voting results are not released. BBWAA members would need to self-identify and I doubt anyone will step forward.

There are two types of voters who will keep Mo from 100%. There are some members who probably don’t believe a closer can provide enough value to be voted into the HOF. I don’t agree with that, but I understand the line of thinking. More problematic are those who don’t believe any player should get 100% of the vote because of all the greats before who never received 100 percent, so when a new player comes on the ballot who is a slam dunk, they will withhold their vote to guarantee the player doesn’t get 100%. That will happen with Mo.

flamingo

You’re right – I mixed it up with MVP voting for some reason. My bad.

Your second point is the angle that most infuriates me.

Havok9120

Very good article. I enjoyed those stats.

Dale Mohorcic

Didn’t Scutaro hit 2 homers against Rivera?

Gonzo

One of those homers was JP Ricciardi.

Monterowasdinero

So if Andy is good and Raul is bad, could we possibly see the return of the core 4 in 2013?

Havok9120

No. But that would be hilarious.

Dummies Playing With Balls (formerly Rainbow Connection)

If Posada walked out with a black painted-on Hulk Hogan-esque beard, would it count as facial hair?

herby

Excellent photos of Mo from his last game this year against Baltimore
Courtesy of Dez Santana Photography